Medical pot advocates urge county action

Wednesday

Apr 28, 2010 at 6:58 AMApr 29, 2010 at 7:00 AM

Natasha Lindstrom

SAN BERNARDINO • Several dozen medical marijuana advocates piled into the San Bernardino County government center early Tuesday, urging county supervisors to roll out policies regulating marijuana collectives in unincorporated areas.

It's been more than 10 months since the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors first ordered a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, after the county failed to win a lawsuit resisting issuing medical marijuana cards. In August the board charged Land Use Services staff with developing possible zoning and licensing rules for medical marijuana distributors.

About 30 medical marijuana supporters addressed county supervisors during the public comment section of Tuesday's board meeting, pleading with officials to legitimize marijuana collectives. Advocates also filed a public records request with the District Attorney's office, asking how much the county spent prosecuting medical marijuana cases in 2009.

"Our concern is that patients need safe, local and reliable access," Lanny Swerdlow, executive director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, said. "We are asking the board to develop an ordinance for licensing and regulating medical marijuana collective so they can operate legally without fear of being arrested and prosecuted by San Bernardino law enforcement."

The county's moratorium expires in June, but county spokesman David Wert said the process for regulating marijuana facilities has been held up by three main factors: an initiative on the November ballot that would legalize marijuana, an ongoing city of Anaheim court case that could set a new precedent for marijuana bans and staff time constraints.

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